A flexible visual simulator for wireless ad-hoc networks of mobile nodes

The management of ad-hoc networks raises interesting problems, that are particularly challenging for networks of mobile nodes. Considering the inherent complexity of these systems, the development of distributed applications relying on wireless communication protocols would be greatly simplified by the use of specific tools for supporting testing and step-by-step debugging. In this paper we describe WISE, a flexible interactive simulation environment for the development of wireless ad-hoc networks consisting of mobile units. A graphical interface allows the user to create/delete nodes, charge their positions and parameters, and select specific mobility models in order to verify the network behavior in dynamic conditions. The simulator also provides a useful support for the verification of agreement protocols, synchronization algorithms and distributed scheduling, allowing the user to display a step-by-step evolution of the algorithms in a suitable graphical representation.